LegalizeThe Honey (England) Regulations 2003
Made: 29th August 2003
Laid before Parliament: 4th September 2003
Coming into force: 25th September 2003
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Title, application and commencement
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Interpretation
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Reserved descriptions
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Labelling and description of specified honey products
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Sale of filtered honey or baker’s honey in bulk containers or packs
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Manner of marking or labelling
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Penalties and enforcement
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Defence in relation to exports
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Application of various provisions of the Act
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Amendment and revocations
10
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Transitional provisions
11
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SCHEDULE 1 — SPECIFIED HONEY PRODUCTS AND THEIR RESERVED DESCRIPTIONS
1a
blossom honey or}
1b
nectar honey}
2
honeydew honey
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comb honey
4a
chunk honey or}
4b
cut comb in honey}
5
drained honey
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extracted honey
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pressed honey
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filtered honey
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baker’s honey
SCHEDULE 2 — SPECIFICATIONS FOR SPECIFIED HONEY PRODUCTS
| Note 1: When placed on the market as honey or used in any product intended for human consumption, honey must not: except in the case of baker’s honey, have any foreign tastes or odours, have begun to ferment or have fermented, or have been heated in such a way that the natural enzymes have been either destroyed or significantly inactivated. have an artificially changed acidity. Note 2: No pollen or constituent particular to honey may be removed except where this is unavoidable in the removal of foreign inorganic or organic matter. | Note 1: When placed on the market as honey or used in any product intended for human consumption, honey must not: except in the case of baker’s honey, have any foreign tastes or odours, have begun to ferment or have fermented, or have been heated in such a way that the natural enzymes have been either destroyed or significantly inactivated. have an artificially changed acidity. Note 2: No pollen or constituent particular to honey may be removed except where this is unavoidable in the removal of foreign inorganic or organic matter. | Note 1: When placed on the market as honey or used in any product intended for human consumption, honey must not: except in the case of baker’s honey, have any foreign tastes or odours, have begun to ferment or have fermented, or have been heated in such a way that the natural enzymes have been either destroyed or significantly inactivated. have an artificially changed acidity. Note 2: No pollen or constituent particular to honey may be removed except where this is unavoidable in the removal of foreign inorganic or organic matter. |
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| 1. | Sugar content | |
| 1.1. | Fructose and glucose content (sum of both) | |
| blossom honey | not less than 60 g/100 g | |
| honeydew honey, blends of honeydew honey with blossom honey | not less than 45 g/100 g | |
| 1.2. | Sucrose content | |
| in general | not more than 5 g/100 g | |
| false acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia), alfalfa (Medicago sativa), Menzies Banksia (Banksia menziesii), French honeysuckle (Hedysarum), red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), leatherwood (Eucryphia lucida, Eucryphia milliganii), Citrus spp. | not more than 10 g/100 g | |
| lavender (Lavandula spp.), borage (Borago officinalis) | not more than 15 g/100 g | |
| 2. | Moisture content | |
| in general | not more than 20% | |
| heather (Calluna) and baker’s honey in general | not more than 23% | |
| baker’s honey from heather (Calluna) | not more than 25% | |
| 3. | Water-insoluble content | |
| in general | not more than 0.1 g/100 g | |
| pressed honey | not more than 0.5 g/100 g | |
| 4. | Electrical conductivity | |
| honey not listed below and blends of these honeys | not more than 0.8 mS/cm | |
| honeydew and chestnut honey and blends of these except with those listed below | not less than 0.8 mS/cm | |
| exceptions: strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo), bell heather (Erica), eucalyptus, lime (Tilia spp.), ling heather (Calluna vulgaris), manuka or jelly bush (Leptospermum), tea tree (Melaleuca spp.) | ||
| 5. | Free acid | |
| in general | not more than 50 milli-equivalents acid per 1000 grammes | |
| baker’s honey | not more than 80 milli-equivalents acid per 1000 grammes | |
| 6. | Diastase activity and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) content determined after processing and blending | |
| Diastase activity (Schade scale) | ||
| in general, except baker’s honey | not less than 8 | |
| honeys with low natural enzyme content (e.g. citrus honeys) and an HMF content of not more than 15 mg/kg | not less than 3 | |
| HMF | ||
| in general, except baker’s honey | not more than 40 mg/kg (subject to the provisions of (a), second indent) | |
| honeys of declared origin from regions with tropical climate and blends of these honeys | not more than 80 mg/kg |
Signed
Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Health
Melanie Johnson — Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, — Department of Health — 2003-08-29
Explanatory note
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Footnotes
[^f00001]: 1990 c. 16.
[^f00002]: Functions formerly exercisable by “the Ministers” (being, in relation to England and Wales and acting jointly, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Secretaries of State respectively concerned with health in England and food and health in Wales and, in relation to Scotland, the Secretary of State) are now exercisable in relation to England by the Secretary of State pursuant to paragraph 8 of Schedule 5 to the Food Standards Act 1999 (1999 c. 28), and paragraphs 12 and 21 of that Schedule amend respectively sections 17 and 48 of the Food Safety 1990 Act. Functions of “the Ministers” so far as exercisable in relation to Wales were transferred to the National Assembly for Wales by the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/672), as read with section 40(3) of the 1999 Act, and those functions so far as exercisable in relation to Scotland were transferred to the Scottish Ministers by section 53 of the Scotland Act 1998 (1998 c. 46), as read with section 40(2) of the 1999 Act. Regulation 13(4) of the Food Standards Act 1999 (Transitional and Consequential Provisions and Savings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2000 (S.I. 2000/656) expressly authorises the Secretary of State to amend or revoke existing Regulations made or having effect as if made by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (whether with others or not) under the Food Safety Act 1990.
[^f00003]: OJ No. L31, 1.2.2002, p.1.
[^f00004]: OJ No. L10, 12.1.2002, p.47, as adopted by EEA Joint Committee Decision 99/2002.
[^f00005]: OJ No. L1, 3.1.94, p.1.
[^f00006]: OJ No. L1, 3.1.94, p.571.
[^f00008]: S.I. 1976/1832 as amended by S.I. 1990/2486, S.I. 1991/1476, S.I. 1992/2596 and SI. 1996/1499.
[^f00009]: S.I. 1982/1727.
[^f00010]: S.I. 1985/67.
[^f00011]: S.I. 1990/2486.
[^f00012]: S.I. 1991/1476.
[^f00013]: S.I. 1992/2596.
[^f00014]: S.I. 1995/3187.
Editorial notes
[^key-c0b7c2e6b17181d22263ce9d02085bf6]: Regulations revoked (24.6.2015) by The Honey (England) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/1348), regs. 1, 20(1)(a) (with regs. 4, 5)
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